


Navigating the Storm

by Mysterious_Prophetess



Series: Bittersweet Memories [10]
Category: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi | Spirited Away, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Gen, Good Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Kurogiri is Not Shirakumo Oboro, Onmyoji Katsuki Bakugo, Onmyoji Shimura Tenko, Reincarnation, Spirited Away AU, Tuna's Spirited Away AU, dad for one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28860309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysterious_Prophetess/pseuds/Mysterious_Prophetess
Summary: A young woman and her daughter arrive in town.Eri sees dragons as friend shaped.Izuku makes new friends in the human and spirit world.Katsuki watches his mouth, for once.In which homes are found and made.
Series: Bittersweet Memories [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2100699
Comments: 13
Kudos: 96





	Navigating the Storm

Katsuki was on his way to the shop when he saw a little kid—couldn’t be older than four or five—was by the river _by herself_.

He texted Tenko and walked over. It was a little girl with silvery-blonde hair and it looked like her eyes were an even brighter red than his or Tenko’s.

“Hey, where’s your mom?” He asked. He noticed the little girl was dirty and there were dried tears but a splash made him realize there’d been something nearby. A flash of scales and he knew it was the dragon river god of the Deku River. He didn’t care that it was officially the “Dehisa” River, he’s calling it the Deku River!

“I got lost,” she said.

“It happens. Did your friend say his name?” Katsuki asked.

“Uh-uh. You can see him?” She asked as she pointed in the water. _Oh. Kid’s got a gift and no one’s believed her…_

“Yep. Been seeing sh-tuff since I was little,” Katsuki said. He barely caught his swearing in time. _Tenko’d never let it drop if he found out._

“Does your mom live on this side of the bridge or the other side?” Katsuki asked.

“Other side,” she said.

“I’m Katsuki. You are?”

“Eri.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m five,” she said as she held up a hand.

“I’m fifteen,” Katsuki said.

“That’s a lot.”

“Yeah. Now grab on and we’re going to go find your mom,” he said as he crouched down to her eye level, arm out. Eri seemed to understand and soon he had her on his hip and he was crossing back over the bridge. Luckily, he didn’t have to go far. A woman who looked a lot like Eri but bigger was frantically talking to someone.

“…please let me know if you see her, she’s only five—Eri!” She rushed over and Katuski handed Eri to her mom. Eri’s mom set her down and checked the little girl for injuries and when she found none hugged her close.

“Don’t do that again, I thought someone had taken you away,” she said.

“Sorry, Mommy.” She grabbed her up and Eri tucked against her mom, legs hooking onto her mom’s hips and arms around the neck; she was clearly used to being carried like that. From over Eri’s shoulder the mom looked at Katsuki.

“Thank you for taking care of her,” she said as she inclined her head a little.

“Was nothing. Really,” Katsuki said.

“I’m…Hikari Hato,” Eri’s Mom said. _And I’m Abe no Seimei…_

“Katsuki Bakugo,” Katsuki said.

“If I can do anything for you—.”

“Nope. I did the right thing and I don’t need no reward for it. Need to go. I’m late for my after school job.”

————————————— ———————

“Hikari Hato”’s name was fake, but her love for Eri was real.

“Mommy? Can we stay here?” Eri asked from the bed in the motel.

“It’s small enough we could stay a while,” Hikari said.

“Good! The river has a really nice dragon in it!” Eri said. Hikari mentally sighed. _Again?_

“Really? So he doesn’t breathe fire?”

“Said he wasn’t that sort of dragon,” Eri said before she laid down and took a nap. There was a knock on the door that startled Hikari badly. She opened it and there was an old woman there.

“May we have a word?” She asked. Hikari gulped and nodded before she took one last look at Eri and stepped outside.

“It’s pretty clear you’re in some kind of trouble,” the old woman said.

“We-we can go—.”

“No. You can stay. This old woman’s last grandchild just moved to America for work and it’s lonely in my house all by myself. If I could get a young woman to help me and keep my company, I can make an alteration to my family registry to reflect a child my late husband fathered out of wedlock, a daughter who is a sweet woman despite her father being a scoundrel,” the old woman said.

“Was he a scoundrel?”

“Without a doubt. He was just a careful one but the town need not know that,” the Old Woman said with a grin.

“How can I be sure I can trust you?”

“You can’t but you can trust that I’m paying it forward. Once, a long time ago, I was like you, and when I needed someplace safe, I found one thanks to another’s help,” the Old Woman said.

“What’s your name?’

“You can call me Mama, but in town I’m Gina Kimura,” Gina said. Hiakri looked back at the door. _A safe place for Eri…_

“Then, we’ll be Kimura’s too,” Hikari said.

“Splendid.”

“Gina—.”

“Mama.”

“Mama. Do you know a boy with ashy-blond hair and red eyes called Katsuki?”

“Mistuki’s firecracker. Good enough kid, though the company he keeps could be better. He works for the local fortuneteller type, a bit of a con artist really, but Shimura’s not a terrible person,” Gina said.

“Con artist?”

“Claims to be an officially licensed Onmyoji. Just a fancy title for fortuneteller.”

———————————— ————————

“There’s a damn licensing exam for being an onmyoji?” Katsuki said.

“Yes. The Japanese government may not officially recognize the supernatural but they do maintain that all onmyoji must pass an exam to ply their trade or else face fines,” Tenko said. The last bit sounded…quoted.

“Was that what Fancy Pants told you?”

“Yep. I think some government goon in the know saw a way to make extra cash.”

“They make us pay to take it?”

“And then pay to register. Luckily, you only have to re-up every five years. It doesn’t do much, except when they send suits for recruitment,” Tenko said.

“When do I gotta take this shitty exam?”

“I wouldn’t recommend you do it for another…two years at least. Maybe more. Might be better if you graduate high school first and have a lot of banked exp,” Tenko said.

“Why not? I bet you already had you license at my age.”

“Yeah. And it was a huge freaking mistake. I told you, I messed with something and it made my hair go white? It’s because I was a cocky brat who passed the exam at fourteen and thought I was hot shit until it turned out I _wasn’t,_ ” Tenko said.

—————————— ————————

Izuku surfaced in the Spirit World excited. _She could see me!_ He’d finally made contact with a human and it didn’t go too badly. He heard some squabbling and sighed. Time to break up a fight…again! He pulled himself completely out of the water and hovered for a moment and zipped down stream until he arrived at the source of the fighting: frogmen vs kappa.

“Again?” He said. The paused and winced like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. The frogmen and kappa started all talking at once and Izuku held up a front paw and they ceased.

“One at a time and since the frogmen got to speak first last time, the kappa get to this time. What’d they do now?”

“They jumped in the river in our spot! We’ve had this staked out for months!” The kappa-leader said.

“It’s not your river and not your spot!” One of the frogmen countered.

“No. It’s _my_ river,” Izuku said.

“We’re not dirtying it and we’re cleaning any trash we find!” The kappa-leader said.

“Same!”

“Last month you had the same fight for the same reasons and you both seem to have forgotten what I ruled,” Izuku said. _How did Father or his vassals deal with so many other rivers?_

“Of course not, Lord Deku!” They all said.

“Then, why is it that last time I ruled the kappa can in fact stake out a part of the river as their home, and that tourists and visitors like the frogmen were to respect that and yet I hear to my face the same tourists as last time saying the kappa don’t have a claim?” Izuku said. A part of him was relishing telling the frogmen off. After al, it was every bathhouse employee’s daydream to be able to tell the tourists to shove it.

“But it’s a large part of the river!” A frogman said.

“It is, and it’s larger than what I agreed to permit the kappa for their personal territory,” Izuku said as he looked over at the kappa.

“We’ll withdraw to our borders, Lord Deku!” The kappa-leader said before they dove into the river and swam up stream a bit.

“Avoid the kappa, don’t dirty the water, and pick up any trash you see and we’ll have peace,” Izuku said.

“Of course Lord Deku!” The frogmen scampered off towards the direction of the bathhouse, which he could see. His river fell between its territory and that of Father’s.

“Nicely handled, Little Stream.”

“Father. Lull in your duties?” Izuku asked as he looked over at him.

“I have Vassals for that, but it’s also nearly time for dinner,” Father said.

“It’s not for another two hours.”

“I’m having a guest over and since you’re rather…hopeless with formal wear, I thought it best to give you extra time to get presentable,” Father said. They took to the sky.

“Who’s the guest?” Izuku asked.

“The Lord of Fire Mountain and his son. If I recall correctly, you’re friends with his offspring.”

“Yes. We are.”

“To think, you can make appropriate friends befitting your stature and not just Riff-raff.”

“Uncle and the others are not riff-raff,” Izuku said on instinct.

“I would never imply my own brother was common trash. Tsk-tsk, Young One.”

——————————————— ———————

“How are things with your domain?” Shouto asked after dinner. He and Izuku were in the courtyard drinking tea. Their fathers had retreated to the study for business talks.

“Nerve wracking. Are people always so….dumb?” Izuku asked.

“From what I’ve seen? Yes,” Shouto said.

“You know, my domain, while small, is still my domain and I don’t have any actual treaties with anyone,” Izuku said as an idea formed.

“And?”

“And there’s nothing saying that the heir of the Mountain of Fire or the heirs to the Land of Eternal Winter can’t meet up on the banks of my river,” Izuku said. Shouto’s eyes widened.

“You’d risk that for me?”

“What risk? It’s _my_ domain,” Izuku said.

“How will you even pull that off?” Shouto said.

“It’s more like how will you four pull that off; I’m just the one with neutral land,” Izuku said.

“I’ll write Fuyumi. She’ll have an idea,” Shouto said after a moment.

———————————— ———————————

Katuski was sweeping up another sandy mess—why was it always sand!—when the door to the shop opened. He looked up and it was Eri and Eri’s Mom.

“Katsuki!” Eri said as she ran over to him.

“Hey. See you stuck with your mom,” he said.

“Yep!”

“I made you something to say thank you,” Eri’s mom said as she presented a plate of cookies. Katsuki took them with one hand and shrugged.

“You didn’t need to but thanks.” He set them on his desk before he resumed sweeping a up the sand.

“Why’s it dirty?” Eri asked.

“Accident,” Katsuki said.

“Oy, Brat who’s..oh. Hello. Welcome to the shop,” Tenko said as he emerged from the back room with an arm full of new-old scrolls. New to the shop, but old as shit.

“I’ve heard a few things. I’m Hikari Kimura, I’m new in town,” Eri’s Mom said.

“Thought you said it was Hato,” Katsuki said.

“I was just trying to help Mama save face,” Hikari said. Katuski knew she was still lying but Mama Kimura was involved which meant he didn’t want to know any more than that.

“Mama Kimura huh? She probably told you I was a con artist too. It’s ok. I know what the town thinks of what I do,” Tenko said as he waved off Eri’s Mom/Hikari opening her mouth.

“Can you…help my daughter? She claims she’s seeing things,” Hikari said.

“She can see spirits, Geezer,” Katuski said.

“Oh. Afraid not. She’s like me and Katsuki. We can see them too. That mess the Brat’s sweeping up is because of an onmyodo spell gone wrong,” Tenko said as he pulled out a sheet of paper from his desk and quickly drew something on it with the nearest brush and ink well before he muttered a sutra and it made a ball of light that danced about for a moment before landing on Eri’s nose and breaking into glitter.

“How’d you do that?” Kastuski asked.

“Manami figured the spell out,” Tenko said.

“Will she have to be like you?” Hikari asked.

“Nah. Just know her sensitivity can and will draw spirits to her. If you give me a week, I can find some protective talismans that’ll work for a kid like her without causing issues,” Tenko said.

“But, I wanna talk to the dragon,” Eri said.

“She says one lives in the river. Does one?”

“That’d be the river god of the Dehisa River, and from all reports, he’s a good river god. Kind and protective. Some kids have fallen in and been tossed out by something with claws,” Tenko said.

“And those talismans would stop her from talking to him?”

“She could talk to him but if she fell in, he couldn’t touch her without pain,” Tenko said.

“That’s fine. You’re not supposed to go into the water without me,” Hikari said as she looked down at Eri.

“I can still talk to him?”

“You can still talk to him. But it will take me a week to get the talismans for her because those made for people like us are much harder to make and come by. All I’ve got in my inventory are items that’d protect you well enough, but nothing more,” Tenko said.

————————— ——————————

Izuku arrived at his river the next morning to see someone had started building something on the banks. He took on his humanoid form and approached cautiously and smiled when he saw who it was.

“Goro! Nana! Sanji! Roku! Yonato! Toshinori!” Izuku was immediately pulled into a group hug.

“We’d wanted to surprise you. Your Uncle arranged for the materials and made sure we had time off and extra help,” Toshinori said once the group hug broke up and Izuku saw little shikigami running around with wood and tools.

“A River God deserves his own house,” Nana said.

“Will Uncle be by?”

“Later. He and Niito had to take care of stuff,” Goro said as he waved his left arms in the vague direction of the domain of the One River for All. He was also holding tools with the hands attached to those arms, so Roku had to duck nearly getting nailed with three hammers. Izuku ditched the haori he’d been wearing and rolled up his sleeves.

“How can I help?”

————————— ————————————

They broke at midday and thanks to the Shikigami, the frame for the simple home was already taking shape. The shikigami actually kept working while Uncle arrived with a massive picnic lunch for everyone.

“You look well,” Uncle said.

“You saw me last week,” Izuku said.

“And now it’s this week,” Uncle said.

“What’s this?” Izuku groaned. Father had arrived.

“Lunch, Brother. Something I’m sure you’re surprised to see me eating,” Uncle said without looking up.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare comment on your eating habits in such…varied company,” Father said. Izuku and Uncle let out twin snorts in unison.

“If you’re just going to insult my friends, then you should leave,” Uncle said.

“Oh, but this isn’t your domain—.”

“It’s not yours either, All Rivers in One. This domain is Young Deku’s,” Toshinori said.

“You’re both welcome here if you don’t fight. You fight and you’re both banned until I forgive you,” Izuku said.

“Define fight, Little Stream,” Father said.

“Any kind. No arguments, no spells, claws, or teeth used in violence,” Izuku said.

“I’ll keep to that if he does,” Uncle said. Father seemed to be mulling it over.

“Fine. But I’ll stick to the bank on the border of _my_ domain,” Father said.

“Suit yourself,” Izuku said.

————— ————————

Father left before lunch was over which caused the tension in the air to dissipate.

“I still don’t know how you deal with him,” Uncle said.

“I know that he wants me around more than I want him around, and he knows that I know,” Izuku said.

“I’m just afraid he’s going to hurt you,” Uncle said.

“Like he’s hurt you, you mean?”

“My baggage with my brother is just that,” Uncle said as he reached for Izuku’s hair and messed it up.

“Ok, let’s get back to work!” Goro said as he leapt to his feet.The shikigami had managed to get most of the exterior work down and were starting on the roof.

“Where’d you get these constructs?” Nana asked as one of the paper-based beings expertly fit everything together.

“There’s a sorcerer who lives on the boundary of my domain and the Great Forest who agreed to lend me his army of shikigami in exchange for some treasure,” Uncle said.

“They’re certainly impressive,” Toshinori said.

“But it’s still nice to give them a hand,” Uncle said. Everyone nodded and soon they were back to work on the small home in earnest.

—————————— —————————

The base was sort of like a bridge in that it spanned Izuku’s river with supports in the water for stability. Izuku helped with those because he’d best know where they could fit without it being too much of a disturbance for the flow.He was called away towards mid-afternoon by a frogman who’d arrived.

“Lord Deku! There’s a ningyo!” He said.

“See to your River, kid, we’ve got this!” Goro said. Izuku nodded and followed the frogman a good ways down the river, past the kappas’ territory, and there the mermaid like creature was. She, it was a she, looked like a koi-fish crossed with a pretty woman. She was a blue koi and had long blue hair and wore a shell crown with two spiral shells that stuck up a bit like antennae. With her, almost hidden by her really, was a male ningyo. He was a mostly black koi-like hybrid with some yellow splotches.

“Hey! You the river god?” The girl asked.

“Yes.”

“Good! Can we live here? It’s so empty and Tamaki isn’t good with others,” she said.

“Sure. Just don’t make a mess, hurt people, and clean up any trash you see,” Izuku said.

“Wow. You’re like really young aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, you’re adorable! I’m Nejire. Thanks for letting us stay! If we find any treasure we’ll give you a cut, promise!” She said.

“Thanks?” Izuku said.

“What’s the river called?” Nejire asked.

“The humans renamed it the Dehisa,” Izuku said.

“Then I’m calling you Hisa!” Nejire said.

“You can call me Deku,” Izuku said.

“Nope! Hisa!” Nejire said.

“Fine. Just try to stay away from the kappa up river, they’re territorial and will complain,” Izuku said.

“Sounds about right. We’ll keep to this area and can we have up until that bend?” Nejire asked.

“Seems fair,” Izuku said after a moment. _And it’s the deepest part of the river_.

“My river’s connected to the human world and if you end up there, toss any drowning humans up on the shore if you can,” Izuku said.

“We’ll do our best!” Nejire said with a salute.

“Can…can our ghost friend visit?”

“Of course he can,” Izuku said.

“Thanks!” A head popped out of the ground which made Izuku jump a foot in the air. The rest of the ghost's body followed.

“Mirio meet Hisa, the dragon of the river. Hisa meet Mirio, our friendly ghost friend!” Nejire.

“I’ve heard about you from Zawa. Thanks for helping people,” Izuku said.

“My pleasure! Kids shouldn’t be doomed because their parents fell for a trap,” Mirio said.

“If you want to also stay in my domain, follow the same rules as these two,” Izuku said.

“Thanks but I’m still needed at the bathhouse,” Mirio said as he pointed in that direction.

“Right.”

“Say….you’re sympathetic to this right? Helping the kids? Nejire, he said the river connects to the human world. Can you get kids out if I chase them to you?” Mirio asked.

“What do you think, Hisa?” Nejire said.

“I can’t actually help you but I can pretend I don’t know you’re doing it and if I could endorse this, I would,” Izuku said.

“Thanks!” Mirio hugged Izuku and soon Nejire had joined making it a wet hug.

“Trying to scare the parents doesn’t work half as well as scaring the kids,” Mirio said.

“I’ll leave you three to hang out, now,” Izuku said.

“Thanks for letting us move here!” Nejire said.

————————— ———————————

The small house was done by the time Izuku got back—he had to deal with a minor problem along the way.

“The only thing missing is furniture, but I’m sure your Father will take care of that,” Uncle said.

“Naturally as I have far more resources with which to do so.” Izuku saw his father was on the side of the river he promised to stay on and Uncle was on the opposite bank with the others.

“We’ll be going now, my boy,” Toshinori said as he hugged Izuku which initiated a final group hug. With that everyone transformed and ran or flew away.

“Despite being so small, it’s actually…of good quality,” Father said as he looked up at the home.

“I’ll still be joining you for dinner,” Izuku said as he walked towards Father.

“Naturally, and since you’re so very close to my domain, I expect you to be prompt,” Father said.

————————— ———————

_“You disappoint me, Kurogiri.”_

_“My Lord, the older onmyoji has used talismans to protect the woman from compulsions. The apprentice also nearly saw me. Furthermore, the man the woman is with also oddly resembles you despite different coloration.”_

_“It would seem she searches for the truth in these imitations. Continue to observe and the next there’s an opening strike hard.”_

_“Of course, My Lord.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry. Not the reunion fic you're looking for.  
> Next time, dear readers. I promise. 
> 
> So, in a world without Quirks, the Yakuza still have power. That's all the more I'll say about Eri and her Mom. 
> 
> The name "Hato" means "Dove" and I was obliquely referencing the surname "Columbo" which also means dove, and— according to my research—was a common name given to orphans. 
> 
> Two virtual cookies for who can identify both tv shows referenced in the above sentence. One's more obvious than the other, btw so I'm underling the other reference.


End file.
